Mind the Product, 2018 London. This talk provides three practical tools that product leaders can use to uncover, accept, and act on what is true—so that you can be less grumpy and more effective at work. Because isn't that what we all enjoy? The feeling that we're doing good work, and that it's working? (UBAD Model for Buy-In by Janice Fraser is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives License 4.0 International.)

1. Hi.

2. @clevergirl

5. WOMAN FACING DOWN RIOT POLICE
KIDS BEHIND CHAIN LINK FENCES
HURRICAINES< FIRES< CLIMATE DENIERS

7. WOMAN FACING DOWN RIOT POLICE
KIDS BEHIND CHAIN LINK FENCES
HURRICAINES< FIRES< CLIMATE DENIERS

8. These days, many
Americans are reflecting on
what’s true.
And what we need to do to get
ourselves out of this predicament.
@clevergirl

10. Most very large companies have one
thing in common with America:
They’re big, and strong, and think that
because they have been dominant for a long
time, that they’re probably doing alright.
@clevergirl

11. Large corporations struggle to grow
Walmart <1%
Ford <0%
Coca Cola <0%
Dow Chemical <0%
@clevergirl

12. How Companies Can
Create Like Entrepreneurs, Invest
Like VC’s, and Install a Permanent
Operating System for Growth
EW
T
GDavid Kidder
Christina Wallace
“How companies can create
like entrepreneurs, invest
like VCs, and install a
permanent operating
system for growth.”
@clevergirl

13. Today we’re about product leadership.
And this year, and all of my
customers are struggling to deal with truth.
So it’s in this frame of that I’ve been
examining my tool kit.
@clevergirl

14. J A N I C E F R A S E R
Chief Product Officer
3 TOOLS
FOR UNCOVERING,
ACCEPTING, and ACTING
ON WHAT IS TRUE.
…so that we can be more effective at work
@clevergirl

15. 1. The path out of hell leads through misery.
2. Business decisions are often made illogically.
3. One does not get buy in during a meeting.
3 PROVOCATIVE BUT TRUE STATEMENTS
@clevergirl

16. “The path out of hell
leads through misery.”
INCONVENIENT TRUTH or PESSIMISTIC LIE
@clevergirl

17. Radical
Acceptance
MARSHA LINEHAN
Psychology Researcher
University Washington
working on it since 1968
@clevergirl

18. Truth with care,
For the benefit of another.
@clevergirl

19. Radical Acceptance
Truth with care, for the benefit of yourself.
Tool
#1
@clevergirl

20. What kind of truths do we need
to accept at work?
You did not get a raise
Customers don’t use our product
The roadmap didn’t get approved
That person is a jerk, even though his
work is good
This project is a mess
You disagree with that decision
The way that we’ve been doing things
isn’t working
The new competitor is winning
The stakeholder is not cooperative
Someone thinks you’re to blame
Sales are down
Recession is inevitable
You have responsibility but not authority
There is too much work for the amount of
time and resources
@clevergirl

21. • How often do you complain about work?
• How often do you leave work exhausted?
• When was the last time you were angry about
something that happened at work?
Wouldn’t it be good to get some relief from that?
@clevergirl

22. Take a moment to consider a recent
business decision that was disappointing.
@clevergirl

23. Consider the impact of that decision.
Who were all the people negatively affected by it?
Did the decision-makers consider the right things?
What would have been a better call?
Who was consulted?
@clevergirl

24. Notice how your body feels right now
Is your heart beating faster?
Shallow breath?
Lump in your throat? Tight chest?
Sweaty palms? Face hot?
If yes, you’re still not at peace with the facts.
@clevergirl

25. All of those thoughts and
sensations get in the way of
being effective at work.
@clevergirl

26. We get stuck in our belief that the current situation
Should Not be the way that it is.
That creates a mental dissonance – it’s true, but it
shouldn’t be true.
“Radical Acceptance is when you stop
fighting reality, stop throwing tantrums
because reality is not the way you want it.”
—Marsha Linehan
@clevergirl

27. Typically, we work around it,
ignore it. Chin up. Persevere.
@clevergirl

28. Radical Acceptance Tool:
6 Question Retro
By yourself, or with a trusted partner/advisor, answer these questions
simply and factually. This is about the Past and the Present.
Write down your answers. Spend an hour.
1. What is the unsettling situation?
2. How did this situation occur?
3. What effect did it have on you (professional, emotional, physical)?
4. How did you contribute to the situation?
5. How did those around you contribute to the situation?
6. What did you have control over in the situation?
@clevergirl

29. When you accept reality, it stops controlling your thoughts and
emotions, so that you can be more effective.
@clevergirl

30. 3 Paths Forward,
once you get unstuck
1. Solve the problem.
2. Feel better about the problem.
3. Tolerate the problem.
@clevergirl

31. BY ME
FOR ME
BY ME FOR
OTHERS
UNVARNISHED
TRUTH
PREVARICATION
RADICAL
CANDOR
RADICAL
ACCEPTANCE
FRUSTRATED
BLINDNESS
TOXIC
NICENESS
@clevergirl

32. Radical Acceptance
All the way. Complete. It is accepting in your mind,
your heart, and your body.
@clevergirl

33. Why accept reality?
1. Rejecting reality doesn’t change it.
2. Changing reality requires that you first accept it.
3. Acceptance can lead to pain.
4. Pain can’t be avoided. (Rejecting reality turns pain into suffering.)
5. Accepting reality usually leads to deep calm.
“The path out of hell is through misery.”
@clevergirl

34. “It isn't suffering that leads to
hopelessness. It's suffering
you think you can't control.”
Angela Duckworth
Grit, 2016
@clevergirl

35. 2. Business decisions are often made illogically.
PROBLEM
@clevergirl

36. “Most men, including those at ease with
problems of the greatest complexity, can
seldom accept even the simplest and
most obvious truth if it be such as would
oblige them to admit the falsity of
conclusions which they have delighted in
explaining to colleagues, which they
have proudly taught to others, and which
they have woven, thread by thread, into
the fabric of their lives.”
Leo Tolstoy
What is Art
1897
@clevergirl

37. Any decision should involve at least
3 people:
The who can say Yes
The who has to live with the outcome
The who has the subject matter expertise
@clevergirl

38. Shout out to Cindy Alvarez
MTP 8/18 San Francisco
@clevergirl

39. Clusters of Cognitive Biases Affect Decision-Making
RESIST WHAT’S NEW
Ambiguity effect
Conservatism Bias
Declinism
Gambler’s Fallacy
Sunk Cost
Endowment Effect
Zero-Risk Bias
PRESENTATION
ALTERS BELIEF
Anchoring Bias
Recency Bias
Framing
Distinction Bias
Illusory Correlation
@clevergirl
I AM RIGHT, AND WHAT
I SEE MUST BE RIGHT
Blind-Spot Bias
Overconfidence
Clustering Illusion
Salience
Survivorship Bias
Availability
Selective Perception
Confirmation Bias
Belief Bias
Choice Supportive
Backfire effect
Placebo Effect
RESIST WHAT’S OLD
Pro-Innovation Bias
Optimism
INFORMATION
RECEPTIVITY
Ostrich effect
Information Bias
Bizarreness effect
SOCIAL
Bandwagon/Groupthink
Stereotyping
Shared Information Bias
Zero-Sum Bias
Loss Aversion

40. We want them to make a fact-based decision.
But as Tolstoy says, those are biased.
@clevergirl

41. We know a lot about how bias works, but how has
that knowledge changed our behavior?
@clevergirl

42. Monthly Bias Salon
When approaching a decision or challenge, take an hour to
think about the biases that may come into play and make an
explicit plan for de-fanging them.
1. Set aside an hour
2. Bring a colleague or two
3. What is a decision that will be made?
4. Who will be involved?
5. What are 3-4 likely biases at play?
6. How can you mitigate?
7. Repeat monthly until you’re good at it.
Tool
#2
@clevergirl

43. THIS MONTH’S DECISION: What Metrics to track?
@clevergirl
RESIST WHAT’S NEW
Ambiguity effect
Conservatism Bias
Declinism
Gambler’s Fallacy
Sunk Cost
Endowment Effect
Zero-Risk Bias
PRESENTATION
ALTERS BELIEF
Anchoring Bias
Recency Bias
Framing
Distinction Bias
Illusory Correlation
I AM RIGHT, AND WHAT
I SEE MUST BE RIGHT
Blind-Spot Bias
Overconfidence
Clustering Illusion
Salience
Survivorship Bias
Availability
Selective Perception
Confirmation Bias
Belief Bias
Choice Supportive
Backfire effect
Placebo Effect
RESIST WHAT’S OLD
Pro-Innovation Bias
Optimism
INFORMATION
RECEPTIVITY
Ostrich effect
Information Bias
Bizarreness effect
SOCIAL
Bandwagon/Groupthink
Stereotyping
Shared Information Bias
Zero-Sum Bias
Loss Aversion

44. THIS MONTH: What metrics should we track
Information Bias
What it sounds like: “Look at all the metrics I can track.”
Explicit Strategy: Work back from your definition of business or customer value.
Availability Bias
What it sounds like: “We measure “value created” with the metric SLOC. It stands for Source Lines of
Code.”
Explicit Strategy: Start with definition of business value, and let that guide what we measure.
Confirmation Bias
What it sounds like: “I never liked that idea, and see, this piece of data proves it’s not working.”
Explicit Strategy: Only measure the things that are revealing..
@clevergirl

45. 3. One does not get buy in during a meeting.
OBVIOUS BUT OVERLOOKED
@clevergirl

46. “A sense of willing participation in
enthusiastic followers.”
Dan Gregory
The Impossible Institute, 2016
A DEFINITION OF BUY-IN
@clevergirl

47. WHAT I HATE ABOUT “BUY-IN”
1. Nobody knows what it is.
2. Everybody thinks they have it.
3. Once we’ve got it, we forget about keeping it.
4. It disappears when the wind changes.
5. Dammit.
@clevergirl

48. The U-BAD Model
For diagnosing Buy In
UNDERSTANDING
BELIEF
ADVOCACY
DECISION
@clevergirl – cc

49. You can have belief without
understanding…and that’s cool…until
it’s not.
UNDERSTANDING
BELIEF
@clevergirl

50. A decision without understanding or
belief…is vulnerable.
UNDERSTANDING
BELIEF
ADVOCACY
DECISION
@clevergirl

51. The U-BAD Model
For diagnosing Buy In
UNDERSTANDING
BELIEF
ADVOCACY
DECISION
Do they
believe in it?
Have you seen
them speaking
accurately,
effectively, and
supportively about
it?
Do they
understand
it?
Are they making
decisions in
support of it?
@clevergirl

52. The U-BAD Model
For diagnosing Buy In
• How do I know I have their support?
• Is it fragile or durable?
• What next actions might I take to shore up that
support it?
@clevergirl

53. J A N I C E F R A S E R
Chief Product Officer
3 TOOLS
FOR UNCOVERING,
ACCEPTING, and
ACTING ON WHAT IS
TRUE.
…so that we can be more effective at
work
• Radical Acceptance (Retro)
• Cognitive Bias Salon (Monthly)
• UBAD (buy-in diagnostic)
@clevergirl

54. “Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light.”
John Milton
Paradise Lost, 1667

55. So, to close,
I want to thank you, UK,
for sharing John Oliver
with us.
There’s nothing like a
British sense of humor to
help us laugh at the truth.
@clevergirl